UKC

Is there anyone of either gender that can make a convincing case for the following statements:

1) "The heating system reaches the desired temperature more quickly by turning the thermostat up higher than the desired temperature"
2) "The thermostat should be turned up higher on a cold day (compared to warmer, but still cool day) to achieve the same level of comfort"
3) "Overall efficiency of the heating system is best achieved by continual manual adjustment of the boiler controls and thermostat"

In reply to iksander:


That's probably true, because it will do less hysteresis when it gets close to the desired temperature, but it will then overshoot massively and get too hot.

(MALE)

In reply to iksander:

Someone should come up with a thermostat that completely ignores user input when it comes to temperature control but causes the central heating boiler to make more noise the higher you push it so it seems to be working harder.

In reply to iksander:

Oh, there's so much scope here.
For a start I know sooo many people (mostly female but quite a few males too) who simply can't use a thermostat, particularly a thermostatic radiator valve, in any other way than to crank it full on or full off.

But to answer the questions:
1) No bid.

2) There is actually some truth to this, user comfort isn't just about the air temperature measured with a thermometer but also about heat loss to surfaces in the room (known as the "cold radiator" effect). On a cold day the walls and windows of the room are colder so to feel more comfortable you actually need to be at a slightly higher temperature. Not only that but any draughts are going to be colder too.

3) As a male I totally sympathise with this approach. The radiators give off more heat with higher flow temperatures. The trouble though is that higher flow temperatures mean that the radiators will overshoot more. So for best effect you really want the flow temperature set to highest during the time the room is heating up but dropping back to lowest as it approaches the desired temperature. Not only that but the controls are fun to play with and it keeps him out of trouble and out of your way (I assume from the wording of the question that you're a girl?).

In reply to csambrook:

He isn't a girl.

In reply to iksander:

1 is surely true. I do it with the fridge when I've just put the shopping in and turn it down when I next get something out.

I figure the air in the fridge will get cold but the centre of my chicken is still quite warm, so I whack it up.

Not sure it will make much difference in a house though, it's much more homogenous and mostly air.

Never really thought about it. My thermostat is basically useless so I'm always adjusting it anyway. It has a plus or minus 2 degree error

In reply to iksander:

Most boilers are either on or off. Set the thermostat at the required temp and leave it. Turning it higher will only mean that it will try to heat the house to a higher temperature, not do it faster. Some people like to mess with the thermostat, it will be reflected in their bills. Radiator stats are the same. All thermostats have a hysteresis (lag) built in (If they turned on and off at the same temp they would be constantly yo-yoing and the boiler turning on and off. That would be annoying.)
In Texas (a hot place!) my wife would set the heating thermostat at 75*F and the air con at 70*F. So one would be trying to heat the house and the other trying to cool it, both at the same time! Expensive as both were electric. I disconnected the thermostats and put another combined stat in the loft. She still set the visible stat and was comfortable with the results (even though it was doing nothing!) Comfort is nothing to do with the actual temperature, but is a psychological feeling of well being!

In reply to johncook:




That's brilliant! did she ever find out?

In reply to iksander:
My other half immediately turns the car thermostat up to maximum whenever it's cold outside and nothing I can say will persuade her that this completely defeats to the whole point of a (relatively sophisticated) 'environmental control' system. Not to mention blowing cold air on our feet before the engine has warmed up...

However, on the subject of radiator thermostats, I have some sympathy. Having a thermostat attached to a radiator mostly results in it turning itself off as soon as it gets hot. This might be OK in well-insulated houses where the temperature is never far off optimum, but in a big draughty house like ours it's useless. And that's assuming they are actually working properly in the first place, which, unless they are new, they probably aren't.

In reply to Dave Garnett:

Reading this thread has got me worried that we all may be married to the same woman!

In reply to Dave Garnett:

yeah......my thermostat is in the lounge which has two external doors (well, one in the staIrway which is right next to he lounge with a draft internal door which tends to be open anyway) and the one tiny radiator in there doesn't work anyway (yeah I should fix it but I'm never in there and I'm moving soon) so it's always freezing.

My bedroom is in the attic, has the boiler in there (inside a cupboard) a good radiator, and only a small window. It can get tropical in there while I can see my breath where the thermostat is.

Wondered why the heating was on last night on and off. It's because in the lounge it was below 5 degrees while in my room it was lovely.

In reply to john arran:

Yes, weird isn't it?

In reply to doz generale:

We are now divorced, but not because of this. She never found out.
I still wonder if the person who purchased the house (after our break-up) has figured out that there is something odd! I didn't have the time or the inclination to sort it out before I left.

In reply to iksander:

1) false
2) shouldn't be true but is - cold walls, colder draughts etc. My thermostat is at head height ish, near a radiator on a non-external wall and the temperature there doesn't always reflect what's happening in other parts of the house. Yesterday when the temperature outside dropped, hubby wanted to turn the thermostat up becase the house was too cold.
3) that won't make it more efficient. Might keep it at the most comfortable feeling temperature I guess.